Shiny
by Tarafina
Summary: There wasn't anything or anyone shinier than his Kaylee in the whole expanse of the black ‘verse. Mal/Kaylee


**Title**: Shiny  
**Genre**: Romance  
**Pairing**: Mal/Kaylee  
**Rating**: T  
**Summary**: There wasn't anything or anyone shinier than his Kaylee in the whole expanse of the black 'verse.

_**Shiny  
**_1/1

Some might say a man like him was too gorram jaded for the likes of Kaylee and some time ago, Mal woulda agreed with 'em. But the girl had a way about her. She didn't take his rule about no fraternizing with the crew too seriously and he could understand why what with Zoe and the former Wash bein' married an' all. Then there was her old flame, the doc, which thankfully ended once their sexin' was over with. Way he figured it, the close quarters made just about any of 'em seem shiny when they wasn't. And Kaylee got it in her head that was just what the doc was only to realize that they didn't have any common ground for their grease and degrees to stand on upright.

Simon was a part of his ship now and he respected that just as much as he respected the rest. But he still saw Serenity as a means for escape, and not in the way Mal or Kaylee did. To him it was just a way to keep River from harm, a way to run from everything that wanted his sister dead or used. But he didn't get the hum of the ship or understand the way Kaylee spoke to it, heard it, _felt _it. So they just didn't fit like they were supposed to, not when the ruttin' was done with. Then Kaylee's shiny doc became just another shattered dream. Not that she was fussin' over it much. She was always too gorram shiny to be upset long. She accepted that she and Simon just weren't cut for each other and after a short while of discomfort, they both let it go and things were back to normal on his ship.

That is 'til River gone and put her mind in things she weren't supposed to be meddlin' in. She spoke in ways that ought be called riddles, but were often vague references to what she'd seen milling 'round in his mind. Thoughts he forced out as often as he could, 'least when he wasn't alone in his room and the frustration and pressure of being the captain got the best of him, leadin' to a far too often used hand to get some well needed release. He told himself it wasn't nothin' that his mechanic's face was always the one in his mind when he stroked himself into satisfaction. She was just another woman, another pretty face, and so it wasn't all that unusual that he'd be thinkin' of her. Problem was there were two or three other women on his ship at any given time and they ain't never played a part in his fantasies.

Sure there were a few times he'd start thinkin' of Inara and all the stress she put on him and he'd think of ways far too dirty to put her quick mouth to better use, but she always changed. Her features, her face, even her voice. They all became that of the soft and shiny Kaylee and he let the guilt over that fade away as his bliss would take him off to sleep.

After a time he was doin' just fine minding his own business, playin' it off as if he didn't lust after his mechanic none. But then River got tired of getting in his head and knowin' what he knew and not sayin' anything about it.

"You want and you take, but you need and you ignore," she told him, catching him off guard as he sat across from her, going through the list of parts Kaylee needed at their next stop. The black sat before them, with River easily guiding them through it. She was a natural pilot, he supposed. To bad she wasn't a natural talker.

"And what is it I need, River?" he replied, sighing.

"You need what you ignore and you take what you want."

He frowned. It was like pullin' teeth trying to get a straight answer outta her. Instead of going through the dizzying motions of trying to figure her out, he grunted and went back to his list. 'Course going over a list written in Kaylee's usual writing, grease smudges at the corners, made him smile to himself. His mind wandering to what those grease stained hands could do to him, what they might feel like wandering over his body. Soon the list was all but forgotten and all he could think of was takin' Kaylee on the floor of her engine room, drawing her attention away from her mechanicin. Serenity would be humming appreciatively in the background, happy that her two biggest fans could find something in each other that they couldn't anywhere else. He fell into that thought more than he meant to, and was drawn out some time later when River got it in her head to try and communicate with him again.

"Your heart, your body, your mind; it all knows what you need. But you rationalize too much. You doubt your needs and so your needed goes unfulfilled."

He lifted a brow, frowning at her. "You were anyone else, I'd ask ya to run that by me one more time. But I know you, River, and I know if I ask I'm just gonna be more confused."

She stared at him blankly, though her lips were set in a firm line, as if she was annoyed with him for not hearing her right. If she just spoke plain old English, they wouldn't be havin' this problem.

Before she could say more, his attention was turned toward the happy figure makin' her way into the control room. "Hey capt'n," she greeted, smiling. "So what on my list is stayin' and what do I need to convince ya on?"

A lesser man might'a fallen for that smile and given in to everything on that list and whatever else her little heart desired. And he was sure to deny that the thought ever crossed his mind, even if it did, often. "We need the bare minimum, Kaylee. Much as I wish this ship was tip top, it ain't, and she won't be after we leave the next stop. Cut 'er down as much as you can and we'll see what we can afford when we get there," he ordered, passing the list back to her.

She sighed, but still smiled, taking the list and stuffing it into her coveralls. He still wondered how it was anyone could make the grease covered ratty wardrobe of hers look shiny, but she managed to every time he saw her. "You feelin' okay, capt'n?" she asked, noticing his blank expression more than likely.

"Just shiny, Kaylee," he replied, nodding before he turned back around.

She stepped up behind him and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, like he often did with her. "You come get me if you need me. You know where to find me at."

His throat was tight and so he simply nodded, listening to her boots as they clomped back off to the engine room.

What in the black 'verse was he damn well thinkin'? Lustin' after little Kaylee was just plain... indecent.

"We fit where we fit. Circles with circles and squares with squares," River told him.

He glanced over at her, brow lifted. "Which am I?"

"Same as the circle."

He frowned. "And who's the circle?"

She tipped her head at him. "Why ask if you already know?"

"I expect I like to be knowin' for sure," he said, leaning back in his chair.

She pulled her legs up onto the seat, knees under her chin. "She's shiny."

"Shiniest there ever was," he agreed.

"You want and you take, but you need and you ignore. Why?"

"Gorram it, girl. Talk English."

She frowned at him.

"Okay... So you're saying I don't just _want _her, I _need _her, right?" he asked, lifting a brow.

She nodded.

"Well I ain't never _needed _no woman. I've wanted, I've had, but I don't need 'em. Too much goin' on for me to be needin' anybody." He leaned back in his seat, nodding as if to convince himself.

"She needs," River told him.

His jaw clenched. "Who does she need?" There was a flash of fear, of anger and jealousy that welled up inside him. Kaylee and Simon were long over but he'd seen her flirtin' a bit with a fellow mechanic or two at their last stop. And he knew she was sending out private waves somewheres, he just didn't know who to or what about.

"She needs who she needs." River turned her gaze back out toward the black. "Some things need to be figured out on your own. If I give you all the answers, you'll run out of questions."

His brow furrowed and he lifted a hand to rub at his head. An ache was forming at his temple. "You got her under control?" he asked, motioning to the controls of the ship. She nodded and he stood from his seat, makin' his way out and wanderin' around for awhile. He found Jayne polishing Vera and knew Zoe was lying down for awhile. He figured Simon was doing something doctory and went off toward the engine room. When he entered, she was hauled up underneath, dressed in her greasy coveralls and talking quietly to the engine and listening to its hum real close like.

"You wanna talk?" she called out, somehow knowing he was standin' around like a fool, watchin' her at work.

"Ain't nothin' to talk about," he replied with a sigh before he sat down near the wall, leaning against it. He could see her body arch around as she worked at the engine. She curved, taut like a bow, and he found himself heat up just lookin' at her.

"Always somethin' to say," she replied, voice strained slightly before she came out from beneath the engine, holding some misshapen object. She lifted an arm and wiped it over her forehead, smudging a black stripe over her sweaty skin. "You ain't come back here to admire me, did ya? 'Cause I ain't fit to be admired right now," she said with a humorous smile.

"You're always fit," he replied.

Her smile softened and she sat down in front of him, crossing her legs before her. She pulled a rag from her pocket and started wiping at her hands to get them clean. "Ain't nobody say things quite as nice as you do, capt'n."

He figured she was tryin' to make him feel better. He wasn't exactly poetical with his words. "Yeah, well, you're easy to compliment Kaylee."

She flushed slightly, noticeable even beneath the flush she had from all her work. She smiled at him genuinely. "You're gonna turn my head right quick if you keep this up."

He closed his mouth tight against the words that wanted to escape. _Maybe your head should turn my way._

"You fix her up?" he asked, nodding toward the engine.

"Always do," she said, climbing onto her knees before she crawled over to sit next to him. "Just a little janglin'," she told him, holding up the mangled metal. "Got loose and fell inside, started her into a fuss. She's all smooth now," she said before leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "Listen to that hum, capt'n," she murmured. "Figure I satisfied her good."

He stared at her, the expression on her face one of pride and pleasure. He found himself thinkin' of other ways he could get her to look the same way. 'Cept she'd be a whole lot sweatier and wearing a heck of a lot less clothes.

When she opened her eyes, she looked right at him, all shiny and cheerful like she always his. "What's weighin' on your mind so heavy?"

His teeth were so tight they felt like they were grindin' together. "Figurin' out wants and needs," he admitted, real casual.

"Sounds interestin'," she said with a quirked brow. "And what's it come down to?"

"Figured I wanted something I really needed. Now I wonder if what I need needs me back."

She grinned. "You sound like River."

He chuckled. "We were havin' a real confusin' conversation. S'pose she rubbed off on me some."

"That's not so bad," Kaylee assured. "She's real smart, even if she is confusin'."

"Yeah, I figure she is." He sighed. "Made me face some things I really wasn't lookin' to face."

"You, capt'n? Well I never saw you as the cowardly type," she told him teasingly.

"I ain't. But then, I ain't never been a needin' type either." He shook his head. "You ever really need something, Kaylee? Or someone?"

"'Course. Always needed my parents. Don't know what I'd do without 'em. Haven't seem 'em in a while but just knowin' they're out there's enough for me." She smiled. "And I need this ship," she admitted, lifting a hand and pressing it against the wall behind her. "Need her like I didn't know I could need something. Need her hum and her warmth and her stability, I s'pose. Sure she don't always run smooth, but she's right loyal, I figure." She turned her eyes back up toward him and he felt his throat tighten. "And I think I'll always need you too, capt'n." She reached up, her fingers trailing from his temple down. "Serenity's just not right without you. S'pose I'm not quite right without you neither."

Her fingers lingered on his face and he lifted his hand to cover hers. "I'm thinkin' she wouldn't be quite right without _you _either."

She smiled. "You see? Ain't nobody say them types of things quite like you."

He tangled their fingers together and simply looked at her awhile. She stared right back, content with just the hum of the engine to fill the room. There was a smudge of grease on her nose but he found she just looked shinier with it. Her hair was all over the place, messy and stained and popping out of whatever frilly hair pin she had in. She wasn't wearin' no make up and she was still covered in those gorram coveralls. But none of Inara's silk dresses or perfumes or perfectly done make ups could compare a lick to his Kaylee.

"I got somethin' on my face?" she asked, lifting her free hand to search around, wiping at her cheeks, only smudgin' 'em more. He smiled, an honest to black 'verse smile. She was just so damned... _her_. All the time. Ain't no foolin' or fussin' or game playin'. She was just Kaylee and he liked her that way.

He reached for her, wiping away the grease smudges from her nose and her cheeks and then ran his rough knuckles down the side of her face. "Pretty either way," he told her.

"There you go again; turnin' my head and fillin' my heart with all your kind words." She shook her head, eyes lit up. "I didn't know better, capt'n, I'd think you were wantin' me."

"Needin'," he corrected. "Figure I need you more than just want."

Her eyes widened slightly, mouth faltering in her teasing smile. "Need my mechanacin," she said in a doubtful voice, brows liftin'.

"Well sure. Ain't a better mechanic 'round these parts." He half-smiled. "Reckon I'm needin' you for more than just mechanicin' though. Need ya more than I ever thought to."

She turned her head to the side, not quite sure she was hearin' him right. Hell, he wasn't sure he was hearin' himself right. He should just shut his mouth and give her some excuse. Walk off with his tail 'tween his legs and tell River she ought not to be meddlin' in things that were just too gorram complicated.

Felt like light-years before she finally smiled at him, bright and shiny and all Kaylee. "Well I reckon I might be needin' you more than just captainin' too."

"That right?" he asked, light and at ease again. Ain't no reason to worry, he guessed.

She nodded. "Sure is."

"And just what would miss Kaylee need from me?"

"Well 'sides by nethers bein' twixted right soon, I figure I could settle for one shiny kiss right about now," she informed him bluntly.

He chuckled. She always did surprise him. Before he could lean in, she was already takin' the lead and clasped his face in her hands, bringin' him up close. Her lips were softer than he expected. And he figured she must'a finished off her stash of strawberries before his arrival, because she damn sure tasted like 'em. She wasn't holdin' back neither. Her tongue reached for his and there wasn't any discomfort like he sometimes wondered there might be. He met her kiss full on and swore them stars from the black got lodged behind his eyes, 'cause she was damn near makin' him fly. Oh-two could wait, he was too damn busy enjoyin' her sweet taste. His hands curled in her hair, forcin' it further out of its bind to fall around her shoulders and against his hands. Ain't no mechanic in the world as soft as her, he figured. He felt her teeth nipping at his lip, tongue laving gently before exploring his mouth once more. Before he knew it, she was up in his lap, wrapped all around him, with her coveralls pulled down to her waist and her mouth makin' sweet love to his neck.

His rough hands kept exploring her shoulders and her neck, runnin' down her back and beneath her little flowery top. She was small and curvy and damn prettier than should be allowed. Her back arched as his calloused fingers ran down her spine, her legs twitching against his hips and her nethers rubbing down against him. As innocent as she was, she gorram sure wasn't no virgin. He knew that from the beginning and in every late night fantasy he had, that innocence was stripped away for the wild woman he knew was inside her. He'd had his share of women in the past, but he ain't never want one like he'd been wantin' Kaylee the last while. Waitin' made this reward all the sweeter.

"We are not alone in the black," River's voice suddenly interrupted them.

His hands stilled in their journey down toward Kaylee's round backside and Mal found himself lookin' around for the odd girl that occupied his ship only to realize she was on one of the squawk boxes. He sighed. He knew the meaning behind her weird words this time though. Trouble ahead. Wasn't there always?

Kaylee sat back in his lap, smilin' her knowing and understanding grin. "Ain't nothin' ever go smooth, capt'n. You taught me that."

He sighed, nodding.

She climbed up off of him and tied the arms of her coveralls 'round her waist. Her hands rose to her hair and twisted it back real complicated lookin' like. "You come get me once your heroics are done with and we'll talk about all this needin' and wantin' you was sayin' earlier." She winked at him before picking up her wrench and climbin' down beneath her engine again, humming under her breath and promisin' Serenity that their good capt'n would get 'em outta there next fix, just you see.

He shook his head, smiling as he walked back up to the front. River looked over to him blankly. "You have what you need and you need what you have," she told him.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get our asses outta here," he said, taking a seat at the controller.

Over two years they'd been goin' strong and he never told River that it was probably all her babblin' that finally got him to admit anything. She was a reader anyway, he was sure she knew. And now he stood wearin' his best suit and a tie that felt too tight. His shoes were pinchin' his toes and he felt a little naked without his gun holstered 'round his waist. His arms were behind his back makin' him look a little more respectable, he figured. Jayne and Simon stood to his left, where he thought on Wash should be. Zoe and River were standing a little ways away, couple of bouquets in their hands. All this fluffery for one day; he couldn't stop tallyin' up all the reasons it was too gorram expensive. Then she stepped out, all trussed up in her white dress, hair done in curls, and smilin' that Kaylee smile of hers and he forgot all about figures and expenses and whether or not they'd even make it to next port given how low they were on gas. All he saw was _her_.

She was walkin' up the aisle, arm hooked around her daddy's and smilin' at Mal all shiny like. Seemed too long a time as she walked up to him, beautiful and just out of reach. Then her daddy was handing him his only daughter's hand and he was takin' it like it was the deed to his freedom. She was wearin' little white gloves that he was pretty sure Inara gave to her some time back. Musta been three years ago, at least. He hadn't seen the frustratin' companion since then. Hadn't thought about her much either.

Kaylee stepped up next to him and he could feel her fingers weave with his like they had for some years now. She looked up at him with that sparkle in her brown eyes and that smile that was just a little bit bigger for him than anybody else. And he couldn't keep his own grin back. When she bit her lip, he knew she was thinkin' on how she couldn't kiss his cheek like she wanted to; any and all kissin' had to be done after. Ain't nobody's little mannerisms he knew better than hers. Learned them all quick as he could and now he could read her just as well as she could read their ship. Together, they turned around to the sherpherd holdin' his righteous black book; it was time to get their business on with.

"On this holy day, we gather here to celebrate the matrimonial joining of two souls that God has destined to be together." Mal ain't believe in god, but he wasn't arguin' over his destiny with Kaylee none. "Today, we bare witness to the marriage of Kaywinnit Lee Frye and Captain Malcolm Reynolds..."

He glanced at his bride to be from the corner of his eyes. His time was better spent lookin' at her than ponderin' the word of a god he didn't believe in. 'Sides, there wasn't anything or anyone shinier than his Kaylee in the whole expanse of the black 'verse. He might'a faced his fears sooner if he'd known this was how it was all gonna be. Needed a kick in the pants from River to get him going, but he sure appreciated it now. Sherpherd Book woulda been real proud of how she'd changed him some. Sure he didn't believe in no god, but he wasn't as cynical as he might'a been back when Book was still alive. It was too hard to be angry with everybody and everything when you had the likes of Kaylee around all the time, showin' the good in the worst of things. She kept him sane, he reckoned.

"Do you Kaywinnit Lee Frye take Captain Malcolm Reynolds to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and to hold, in the black and beyond, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

"Shiny," she replied quick and sure, nodding.

The shepherd lifted a brow but accepted her answer. "And do you Captain Malcolm Reynolds take Kaywinnit Lee Frye to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold, in the black and beyond, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

He turned to Kaylee and grinned. "Shiny," he said, reiterating her favorite word. She turned with him, squeezing his hand and smilin' up at him.

"Then by the power vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife. Captain, you may-"

He didn't need tellin'. He drew her forward by her hand, his arm wrappin' around her waist, and caught her mouth all fierce and passionate. Figured he'd beat her to the punch this time, seein' as he could already see her gnawing her lip all anxious like. Hell, she already kissed him first and proposed before he could, he wasn't about to let her get this one over him too. He kissed her breathless, his fingers curlin' around her lacy little dress that he couldn't wait to take off of her in the privacy of their quarters. He felt more than heard her moan while her body softened against his, fingers stroking the back of his neck as she met his mouth kiss for kiss. He could vaguely hear clappin' in the background but ignored it and the call for oh-two to keep on kissin' his new bride.

"Somebody best separate them 'fore they start ruttin' right here 'fore the preacher man!" Jayne called out.

With a laugh, Mal broke apart from Kaylee, who was giggling too. He drew her up 'til she was on her own two feet again and she cupped his face, starin' into his eyes all lovin'-like. "You keepin' what you need, capt'n?'

"Forever 'n ever, Mrs. Reynolds," he replied, mouth quirked with a grin.

She leaned forward to kiss his lips once more, soft and lingering. As she pulled back, she nodded. "Sounds shiny."

"Sure does," he agreed, arm falling around her waist and drawing her up to his side so they could turn to greet their happy friends as husband and wife.

_Really shiny_.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _There are two other companion pieces to this that are already finished if you want to read more. Hope you liked this! Reviews are sustenance, readers! Luv yas - Fina!_


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